While economists and officials debate on Cuban state television about how much space the market should occupy within the socialist model, several citizens responded with a much more fundamental question: "But what is there to plan if nothing is being produced?"
The reaction arose in response to a recent edition of the program Cuadrando la Caja from Cubadebate, focused on the topic "Market in Cuban Socialism: Goodbye to Planning?", at a time when the government itself acknowledges the need to introduce changes in a model shaped for decades by centralization.
The program, hosted by Marxlenin Pérez Valdés, brought together Adriano García Hernández from the Ministry of Economy and Planning; Rafael Montejo Véliz, director of the Center for Management Techniques Studies at the University of Havana; and Ayuban Gutiérrez Quintanilla, a professor at the Faculty of Economics of that institution.
During the debate, the panelists acknowledged issues related to "excessive centralization" and the diminished role of the market in the Cuban economy, advocating for greater use of market mechanisms within socialist planning.
García Hernández even admitted that some openings to the private sector are more a response to necessity than a preference of the government.
"There are certain sectors where we would prefer not to have as much presence from the private sector as it will have now, but we have to do it; otherwise, we won't save the Revolution," he stated.
Montejo Véliz also anticipated a significant change in the allocation of resources: "The market is going to begin to play a role that it did not have before, and it will have a much more active role than it has had so far."
For his part, Gutiérrez Quintanilla proposed shifting from "planning behind the market" to "planning through the market," with greater emphasis on prices and financial mechanisms as opposed to traditional material planning.
The explanations sparked numerous critical responses among Cuban users on social media, many of whom were more concerned about shortages, salaries, and prices than about the theoretical definitions of the economic model.
"The only thing I can tell you is that I don't know how you want the market. But right now, a bottle of oil is the minimum wage in Cuba," commented a user.
Another summarized his question even more directly: "But what is there to plan if nothing is produced?"
A Cuban wrote: "If we are already living in capitalism, we should be paid accordingly," referring to prices that have risen much faster than the incomes of a significant portion of the population.
The debate comes amid a significant deterioration of the main economic indicators. The official year-on-year inflation reached 25.19% in August, while food and non-alcoholic beverages saw an increase of 36.01%.
The minimum wage remains at 3,210 Cuban pesos, an amount that is even lower than the prices of some basic products in the private market.
The discussion included references to former Minister of Economy and Planning Alejandro Gil, who for years defended centralized planning and was subsequently sentenced in two judicial processes: to life imprisonment for espionage and to 20 years in prison for economic crimes and corruption.
The debate on market and planning coincides with the implementation of the so-called Economic and Social Transformations approved in June. At the end of September, the government claimed to have implemented 158 of the 176 planned measures.
Among them are a greater participation of the private sector, changes in foreign trade, business modifications, and new pricing formation mechanisms, although Prime Minister Manuel Marrero himself acknowledged at the time that what was missing was "the most important": that the results could be perceived in everyday economics.
A verse from the popular poet El Gurú de Jatibonico, read during Cuadrando la Caja, summed up the significance that the participants themselves attribute to the change:
"From material plans to financial plans: they may seem like slight changes, but they are radical changes."
For many of those who commented on the debate, however, the immediate concern remains less theoretical: what to produce, how to increase supply, and how wages will be able to cover current prices.
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